Still Only One Case Confirmed In Onslow County

Swine flu has still only been confirmed in one case in Onslow County. The second case was still not confirmed as of 4 p.m. during a briefing by the state health director.

Both patients, a husband and wife, have been isolated since diagnosis and will remain isolated until the illness runs its course. The patients did not need hospitalization and have been taken care of at home.

Below is Sunday's news release from the state.

RALEIGH — State Health Director Jeffrey Engel today reported that further testing has confirmed one case of the H1N1 flu in North Carolina. Gov. Bev Perdue joined Dr. Engel in assuring North Carolinians that state and local health officials have taken appropriate steps to safeguard the health of North Carolinians.

“We have been planning and preparing for an infectious disease outbreak for some years now,” Gov. Perdue said. “We have stockpiled antiviral medications and other materials for fighting infectious disease, such as gloves and masks. Everything is in place, and we know what we have to do.

“All of our county Health Departments are providing strong leadership and working aggressively to keep informed taking proper health precautions.”

Dr. Engel said he received the confirmed test result today from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.

Testing at the State Public Health Laboratory in Raleigh had identified two probable N1H1 flu cases on Thursday, which were forwarded to the CDC for further testing and confirmation.

Another six North Carolina samples identified by the State Lab as probable for H1N1 virus have been forwarded to the CDC. Thoseresults are not yet available. The State Lab is currently receiving more than 100 samples for testing daily.

The confirmation was from an Onslow County resident who had recently visited Texas. The Onslow County citizen has been ordered into isolation for seven days after the initial manifestation of symptoms, and a family member is a probable case awaiting CDC confirmation.

The Onslow County couple have both been in isolation and there have bee no secondary cases in Onslow County.

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North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue says the state's first case of swine flu is in Onslow County.

Perdue released word of the confirmation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a news conference in Raleigh.

State health director Dr. Jeffrey Engel would not identify the sickened person, except to say a couple who traveled to San Antonio, Texas, acquired the disease. Engel said he didn't know when they had traveled, but did say the couple had been in Texas for about five days when the person picked up the flu.

A tally released Sunday by the CDC shows 30 states now have 226 cases of swine flu. That does not include the North Carolina case.

New information Sunday shows 226 confirmed cases of swine flu or H1N1 in the United States.

That number is up from 160 confirmed cases reported Saturday. There is only one confirmed death from swine flu in America, a toddler from Texas.

The flu is in 30 states. As of Sunday morning, the Centers for Disease Control had not confirmed any cases in North Carolina.

Two people in Onslow County and one person in Craven County are among hundreds in our state tested for the virus. They remain in isolation until the test results are complete.

Meanwhile, there is encouraging news about the flu in Mexico. Below is information from an Associated Press story.

Mexico's health secretary said the swine flu epidemic in his country "is now in its declining phase," even as the U.S. and five other countries in Europe and Latin America reported new cases Sunday.

China quarantined more than 70 Mexican travelers and Hong Kong isolated 350 people in a hotel as a precaution even though no new swine flu infections appeared in Asia. In Egypt, authorities' attempt to kill all pigs as a precaution against the disease prompted pig owners to clash with police who were helping to seize their animals for slaughter.

The death toll in Mexico remains at 19, and the number of confirmed cases has increased slightly, from 473 to 506, including the dead,health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said. He said "evolution of the epidemic is now in its declining phase."

He said data suggest the epidemic peaked sometime between April 23 and April 28, and that drastic measures, closing the nation's schools, shuttering most of its businesses and banning mass public gatherings,apparently have helped curb the flu's spread.

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